Update (10-20-2023) (Patreon)

Another week, more chapters. It feels like I just keep posting chapters because we have a streak. I was originally worried I'd get burned out, but... Big shrug. I feel fine. I keep coming up with new ideas, but that leads me to something I was rambling about on the RR chapter notes.

So, the longest series I've written before this was 2 books. And in those two books, I violated one of my new rules for writing. I change the way things worked too much, making the second book not really track thematically with the first. My goal with longer series like this is to keep the themes, and the day-to-day events of the book relatively the same. I think somewhere around book 2 of N&D it got kinda off that track, but I've pulled it back for the most part.

I mean, you have to think of the series as weird. It's just a weird bunch of books. Theo hasn't really fought anything yet. There was the briefest combat scene in book 3, and he's working up to using throwing weapons. But it's still this day-to-day story that's very hard to balance. What I've learned is that I had to add a lot of mechanics to make up for the lack of days progressing. Writing other stories, I can just say "so and so trained for a week and got a level". But doing so here would violate that rule where we see every day. So, we have time dilation, gods being goofy jerks, and so on.

I don't really read complaints in the RR comments or reviews. My thought is that if someone thinks the series is horrible (a series they read for free :O ) there is nothing I can do to make it better. Spending 15 minutes writing up a thoughtful response has NEVER worked for me. Those commenters typically ignore my response or say "nuh-uh". So, block and move on who cares. I just find it such a shame that there's so many good suggestions in the comments, and an author has to wade through pools of filth to find them.

Oh well!

And we come around to a point I was making above. The story is circling on itself. Even RR will have access to what Belgar has become tomorrow. I'm introducing the idea of the heavens and how they work. Theo is starting to doubt that the designation of "god" is appropriate for the gods in this world. What does that all mean? It gives me an opening to continue the series after the 8 books I'm contractually obligated to provide. (it was gonna be six, but I figured out a way to make it work)

I'm happy to write myself into a corner with the work I've produced so far. I came to a realization, which I may have ranted about here, that I'm the slice-of-life guy. I'll be leaning into that hard in the future, and plan on having two more series running that don't just edge on slice of life, but embrace it. Coming with that is my rule that I'm not releasing a book unless it has at least 1 book ready for release. Furthermore, while N&D is releasing, those books will release from start to finish as whole books, and will pause when an entire book is released. This is just my plan right now, things may change.

So, two new slice-of-life books on offer by...uh...what month is it? October? Well, let's say anytime from January to March. The first one is the book everyone here voted on, which doesn't have a title. "The Mechanist" is what I have it as in my folders. And I haven't really found something in the text that inspires a title. I hate titles. That series would be a direct sequel to N&D, taking place about 400-500 years after book 8. 

Second book is titled "Teleportation, Baby!" and I have no plans of changing it. It both does and doesn't take place in the N&D universe. Reincarnated as a baby. OP main, but he just wants to teleport around and deliver supplies. Crafting, spell crafting, base building, sipping of tea, eating of sweets, etc. You know the deal. I wrote the first 10 of that just to get a feel, then decided that those 30,000 words are the prologue. 

I have about 15 different projects in folders. They all have problems, but those two rose to the top. I just counted, there are 24 projects. That's too many story ideas.

Anyway, this week was extremely busy. Both with work and with writing. Somehow I stayed on schedule, even with all the crap that's going on. Actually, I'll be ahead a little bit. Just a hair, though.

This is like when a letter has a PS, then a PSS, and so on.  ANYWAY, thanks everyone here for their support. I'm sure I can carve out a little niche of cute, cozy slice-of-life stories in the genre. But you're instrumental to that.

Thanks!